HELLMOUTH : Welcome to Sunnydale
by Zauriel Angelus
Summary: Complete AU. Xander stands guard over Sunnydale with the Scooby Gang, leading the charge against evil. F/X is on the horizon too. Updated !!! Part 1 is up !!!
1. Default Chapter

**Disclaimer :** All characters belong to Joss Whedon and ME. I acquire no profits at all from this. The only thing I do own here is the story though. Honest : )

**Rating :** Mostly PG but I'm putting an R on this just to be safe.

**Author's notes :**  I have a flu and this was what came out of it. This is a result of sickness and a twisted little idea I had when I was a little out of it. The only thing I've decided on is that this is Xander's story. This is completely AU where Xander is the one who stands guard over Sunnydale , leading the Scoobies' charge against evil. Buffy isn't going to feature much in this fic. She's hardly in this at all. She does make an appearance here though so don't you worry too much okay ? Faith will take much more of a prominent role here. A pal of mine wants this to be F/X and since it's her birthday I'll probably comply. : )  Hiya *A !!! Happy 19 girl !!!

**Feedback :** yes please …?

**Dedication** :  To Lori Bush and Shawn (Ozmandayus ) for inspiring me to write , to Lesley for making me smile , to Wicked Ray whose stories simply kick ass and to all Xander fans as well. Last but not least to my birthday girl *A , aka Audrey, I love ya baby . Say hi to your mom for me : ) 

I hereby dedicate this all to you guys out there : )

~**~ 

**HELLMOUTH** : Welcome to Sunnydale  … by Zauriel Angelus

~**~

prologue - 

 Another day , another death it seemed but this _wasn't_ just another ordinary town … And if you haven't already figured out it's Sunnydale I'm talking about here then I'm gonna seriously start to question why you're reading this in the first place , not that I'm insulting you of course. It's just that it's too obvious really. Sorry if I sound a lil snotty but I have a flu and it's bugging the hell out of me plus when I'm sick, I'm usually very grumpy. ( It shows in my work too) Also note that I'm bored which is also another reason why I wrote this in the first place.  

Anyway since _I'm_ the author here , I'll get back to the story now …  so picture an alley , dark and damp , smelly too. The sky is darkening and you can actually see the vague outline of the moon in the sky. Move your vision to the dirty ground and Voila !!! 

Disgusting dead body. 

Three people are standing over the same corpse. Oh , Guess who …? 

" She looks kinda familiar." 

The petite redhead was whispering in a rather conspiratory (sp?) tone which to say the least bothered the Englishman in her company a bit, seeing as there was no real reason to actually take that tone. 

" Um …Willow, why are we whispering ?" Giles asked offhandedly as he crouched over to examine the deceased and took something out from under his long brown coat.

" I have no idea." Willow replied sheepishly.

" Well , we can pretty much rule out a normal cause of death just by looking at her. Do you know the girl ? I can't seem to stop wondering if I ever saw her from somewhere before." 

 She was a young one , just barely seventeen and he was just thinking whether or not he'd seen her once before enter his domain – the high school library, for which he was solely in charge of. 

" Can't say I actually know her and can I just ask you this ? How much time does it usually take before vomiting becomes a habit ?" 

Giles stopped in mid-thought to actually consider his reaction and reply to that.

" I completely understand why you would bring that up now. She's the third one this week." Giles sighed and shook his head. " What a mess…"

The body was decomposing more rapidly than normal right before their eyes. Blonde hair was turning to white. There was blood dripping out of her eyes and speaking of which , those same eyes which were vaguely green once, they were both drying out in their sockets and the skin was peeling off rather disgusting as well. The stench of rotting meat was also getting stronger. 

" I feel sick." Another voice piped out.

" Well Xan, you did just puke a minute ago." 

Willow smiled at her childhood friend , offering him a tissue to wipe off the bit of nasty vomit from the corner of his chin. 

" Thanks Will , that's the last time I eat cocoa puffs before patrol." Xander smiled weakly, accepting Willow's small gesture with absolute gratitude. " You seem cold, here wanna wear my jacket ?" 

The dark-haired young man quickly slipped his black duster off, quickly wrapping it over Willow's shoulders  before she could say a word of reply. 

" Thank you."     

" No prob." Xander grinned and shrugged. There was also another reason for taking off his favourite duster. He actually welcomed feeling cold at this moment in time. He felt that it made him less emotional and that in his opinion was good to be in situations like this. 

" Xander , would you care to take a closer look ?" Giles asked, poking the corpse around with something sharp and pointy as he did.

" Uh-uh." Xander shook his head firmly in the negative , taking two more steps back. " I'm more than fine over here with this view."

" I was just asking Willow if she seen her before. Do you recognize her ? It might help us greatly in identifying our monster if you do." 

" I don't know her G-man but I think I do recognize her. I also recognize recent vamp dust around here."  Xander observed.

" You can spot vampire ash laying around ?" Willow's eyes widened " When did that happen ?" 

" Giles taught me how to spot their dust patterns a week ago." He proudly stated. " On topic , our monster probably doesn't like vampires either and if this is any indication …," he pointed out various spots of possible dusting. "… we're going to need the serious backup your council promised." 

" I seriously doubt their promise will hold and need I remind you _again_ Xander that I no longer have much association with _that_ group anymore ? It's fairly obvious I don't _like_ them isn't it ? Those blithering idiots can't do anything right. You give them the ingredients to make a perfect cup of tea and they'll make a bucket of bloody piss out of it." 

" You're _still_ sore about being fired ? It's been _two_ whole years Rupert." Willow patted him softly on the back. " You're better off without them." 

" What's with your mood Giles ? You're more tense than usual. You feeling ok ?" 

" I do suppose you're right Xander. I seem to be a bit … _off_. "

" Don't sweat it Giles , we've defended Sunnydale without their help quite effectively. We can manage. The Scooby gang has managed this long so far. We'll hold." 

" Yeah !!! Sing it Xander !" Willow agreed.

Giles stood up, sighed deeply and took off his glasses. 

" I admire your confidence in our abilities Xander. I want to believe that myself but I'm not too sure. I've staked vampires and killed the occasional demon in my prime without so much as a sweat … but this is the hellmouth. If my calculations are right it's warming up and God alone knows what will happen when it blows. I doubt even we can handle that heightened level of supernatural activity in our midst. If we fail in our tasks , the end of the world will sweep over and all of our efforts will be for naught. If Armageddon comes by knocking the entire earth won't survive, much less Sunnydale. "  

The dark haired youth took on a more serious tone of voice, grim determination written clear on his face.

" This is **my** town Giles. I won't let anything like that happen. Ever. You know better than anyone. The future's not written in stone."  

To that Giles genuinely smiled. " I suppose not." 

" You were saying something earlier about your old colleague maybe bringing us help too. What are the chances of that ?" Willow interjected while going over the scene to look for clues.

" Merrick …? As good a man as he is, much of his sanity left him long ago. After the death of his niece he became too obsessed with finding a potential. His offer of how he could actually help was also very vague. There's more chance of the council's unlikely help coming by than his." 

" A potential _what_ ?" Xander asked, perking up at the subject with interest. 

" A potential _vampire slayer._ One chosen in all the world to be blessed with the strength and skill to fight the vampires , the demons and the forces of darkness. It is often said that the fate of the world would rest on his shoulders." 

" Why can't we have one of those here ?" Willow asked.

" The slayer's practically a legend these days. The potential line died out centuries ago and whatever small knowledge the council had regarding the slayer has been lost along with him."   

" Hey ! The hellmouth was a legend !!! No one knew it existed either till you came along. It's back in action now. Maybe the slayer will be too." Xander pointed out.

" I seriously doubt that Xander but it is possible. Willow, help me take some samples over by those pipes. There are a few things I need to confirm." The librarian walked over to a pile of torn newspapers. We're missing something here. What is it ? 

" Does that mean I'm patrolling alone again tonight ?" Xander frowned. 

" If you're sure you're up to it." Giles answered without looking up at him as he combed carefully through the dump to look for clues.

" My back is kinda sore after that last clusterfuck at the bronze but I'm otherwise okay. Can you guys handle the research ?" 

" I do hope so." Giles muttered. " We need answers fast if we need to stop whatever that did this to her. As for your patrol , if you do encounter our 'serial killer' , do not be too quick to engage…" 

" Discretion is the better part of valor." Willow cheerfully finished for him right before her eyes drifted to a small chunk of wood lying close by.

" I get it. So the plan is to run when I meet this guy ?" Xander considered it for a moment. " That makes sense." 

" So back to the girl , you said you recognized her."  Giles continued

" Yeah , it's sad. She's new I think.  She just arrived only two days ago. I heard she moved here from LA with her family. Cordelia said something about her name being Buffy … or something. It might've been Bunny Summers. I'm not sure." 

" I've heard that name before." 

" Hey guys  …" Willow's voice interrupted , holding up a sharpened stake for both them to see. 

"… Look at what I found ." 

-------------- 

End Prologue- 

**End notes: **Yeah … yeah , so I killed Buffy. I'm evil that way (hee) Did anyone see that twist coming though ? I'm mostly playing by ear with this one. No planned plots or whatever. The only thing I can actually be sure of is that Faith will come to town soon and something bad will happen. (hee) Anyway if you have any ideas or comments to help me with this , gimme a yell. I'd even welcome a co-writer on this. It seems to have lots of potential already and I don't want to see that wasted. 

So gimme some feedback people and tell me what you want me to do and maybe just maybe , I'll do it : ) 

FEEDBACK !!!!!!!!!!!! 

Till next time I remain ………… 

Ps : _Ugh _… I think I'm still a bit drowsy


	2. part 1

**Disclaimer :** All characters belong to Joss Whedon and ME. I acquire no profits at all from this. The only thing I do own here is the story though. Honest : )

**Rating :** Mostly PG but I'm putting an R on this just to be safe.

**Author's notes :**  I have a flu and this was what came out of it. This is a result of sickness and a twisted little idea I had when I was a little out of it. The only thing I've decided on is that this is Xander's story. This is completely AU where Xander is the one who stands guard over Sunnydale , leading the Scoobies' charge against evil. Buffy isn't going to feature much in this fic. She's hardly in this at all. She does make an appearance here though so don't you worry too much okay ? Faith will take much more of a prominent role here. A pal of mine wants this to be F/X and since it's her birthday I'll probably comply. : )  Hiya *A !!! Happy 19 girl !!!

**Feedback :** yes please …?

**Dedication** :  To Lori Bush and Shawn (Ozmandayus ) for inspiring me to write , to Lesley for making me smile , to Wicked Ray whose stories simply kick ass and to all Xander fans as well. Last but not least to my birthday girl *A , aka Audrey, I love ya baby . To everyone who's read this and reviewed. Thanks for everything. 

I hereby dedicate this all to you guys out there : )

~**~ 

**HELLMOUTH** : Welcome to Sunnydale  … by Zauriel Angelus

~**~ 

part 1- 

" Oh , great … I'm gonna be so late." 

The watch on her hand spoke the language of time loud and clear. It was well past eight thirty and the promise she had made earlier on the phone was to arrive ten minutes before. A dozen curses were at the tip of her tongue but she held them all in. Being angry with her mother wasn't going to get her anything but a headache and having talked to Willy the snitch was already enough of a headache by itself.

She shook her head and grimaced , pulling her maroon sweater jacket closer around her. Letting out a breath, she ran a hand through her short dark brown hair, unconsciously  tracing the scar just above her eye, a small line that cut across her right eyebrow. Her thoughts slowly drifted off to one dark-haired young man she knew, as did the unwanted emotions that came along with him.

" _Xander_ …"

Damn that boy… 

" Hey baby , where are you off to in such a hurry ?"

The brunette paused in her thoughts, her walk stopping abruptly as she felt eyes watching her from behind.  She turned her head , seeing a handsome face now coming to view.  

He was tall and big at six foot seven and dressed not too shabbily either. Deep blue eyes peered out almost shining in the dark , as he gave her the once over. He casually stepped closer to where the beauty was , a slight smile on his face. 

" This is a dangerous town y'know ? Can't be walking out all alone too much." He offered her a handshake. 

" Name's Flint , what's yours miss …?" 

In the past she would've fallen head over heels to get the type of attention of this nature. He was good looking , decently attired and reasonably charming at first glance. She would've given him her biggest smile back then. These days , a lot of things have changed.  

Times were different now … _she_ was different. 

" I'm not alone." 

" What ?" 

" I'm not alone … and if you've had any sense at all , you'd stop bothering me. Buzz _off_." 

On Clint's face was a pure look of surprise. He clearly wasn't expecting that response at all. Quickly the big man flew off into a rage, his  features taking on a decidedly inhuman face. 

" Listen you arrogant lil bitttttsshh-" 

His human mask was now gone but even more pronounced was the evident shock in his eyes as his body quickly faded into the breeze, his ashes floating all over the sidewalk.  

" No use in giving my name to dust." 

She blinked, twirling the stake in her hand slightly. For a second there, she thought someone did say her name. 

" Cordelia !" 

" Huh …?" 

" What was taking so long ? I was almost worried."  A familiar voice spoke out.

Wearing a loose t-shirt and baggy pants, a teen around her age whose reddish brown hair stood up at spikes approached her from the side.

" Oz … you startled me. I ran into a vamp." 

" No problem then." 

" Nope. Willy didn't give us much but Willow called just now. Another girl kicked the bucket. She didn't say much but there's a big group meeting at the library. She told us to get back there pronto. We're already running behind as it is." 

" Aren't you glad now that I have Sheila to help us with that ?" said Oz as they both walked to his parked vehicle nearby.

" Your _van_ doesn't make me miss my car any less, wolfy." 

" Give her time." Oz grinned.

----------------------- 

" I've got nothing." 

The large dusty tome slammed onto the table with a loud thud , the echo bouncing off the walls of the small library she sat in.

" Willow , do be more careful with that book. It isn't exactly cheap to come by." Giles reprimanded as he sipped his newly brewed tea.

" I'm sorry. I'm just frustrated. How goes the Merrick search ?" 

" Not well. We don't really have much in the way of leads and I'm still waiting for some friends of mine to return my calls. The test results of the residue left at every murder scene have all been inconclusive. We've acquired no match on what the particular secretion is, no clues whatsoever. The chemical compounds are unlike anything I've ever seen or read about but maybe … _that's_ where we're going wrong."

Giles paused his brain now working on overdrive. " Maybe it doesn't exist at all. Maybe it shouldn't have. It could be an accidental by-product of some sort." 

" Or in turn the secretion might be _from_ an accidental by-product." Willow chimed in with a pencil raised in the air as Giles nodded in agreement , reaching with her free hand to retrieve another donut from the desert box on the table. 

" Why couldn't I see that sooner ?" Giles suddenly slapped his forehead. " We've wasted so much time going around in circles unnecessarily. It's something entirely new !!! It was so bleeding simple and I didn't see it till now."

The Englishman abruptly stood up from his chair and started pacing the library floor his  anger directed solely at himself. 

" I'm supposed to be good at this. Obviously I've done a bang-up job so far." Deeply he sighed. " I can't possibly imagine feeling any _worse_ than I do now."

" Pastry ?"  Willow suddenly offered a chocolate dipped donut. 

" Any jellies left ?" Giles asked with a hopeful look on his face.

" _Um_ … I ate the last one minutes ago. We're all out." 

" Oh …" The librarian's shoulders slump down again even more. "… n-never mind then." 

Seeing the disappointment on Giles' face , Willow quickly made a mental note to get more jelly donuts next time before deciding to pull them back into their previous discussion.

" We can't rule out magick either. I sensed something there. A slight supernatural presence if you will. Bad vibe. _Chaos_ is written all over it. Dark and powerful stuff to be playing with which brings up the possibility that a mage might be involved in this."

" Your sessions with Miss Calendar seem to be paying off rather well." Giles smiled.

" I'm doing what I can." The redhead grinned shyly. 

" Having been more attuned to these new um …_sensations_, did you happen to experience the same feeling at the other sites ?"

" Just this new one. The others were all negative. I think a lot more happened at that alley than we know." 

" Yes." Giles agreed , his eyes now cast over the wooden stake placed in the middle of the large table in front of him. " I believe so too." 

Just then Cordelia and Oz walked through the doors. 

" Hi guys ! What's up ?" came Cordelia's wide-grinned greeting as Oz quietly smiled at her side.

" You're late." Giles eyed the time on his watch. 

" Couldn't be helped." Oz spoke up before moving to give Willow a small peck on the cheek. The redhead smiled and blushed in response. 

Ignoring their little moment, Cordy went straight into her detail as she took her seat at the table, " Willy said he'd been hearing of some new arrivals making waves in the 'dale. Nothing more than that. Doesn't have a clue to our wanted monster or any other news that could give us a tangible lead on that. The local demon population seemed skittish to even say much to our favorite snitch and he actually feels insulted too."   

For a second the brunette stopped and really looked around at everyone. 

" Where's Xander ?" 

---------------

" AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH !!!!!"

Wind is rushing through his hair, adrenaline pumping away into his veins like crazy. The music's loud as is the company. The ride is no doubt wild and the night is hot. What's not to enjoy really.

" DON'T WRECK MY CAAARRRRRRRR !!!!!" 

Of course seeing as Xander's barely hanging on to the hood of a red Shelby classic that seems to be going a hundred miles per hour _and_ fighting a screaming vampire stuck at his side, who's also trying to throw him off _and_ make him road kill … there's really not that much to relish. 

" Would you cut that out ???!!!" An exasperated Xander seethed." Stop shouting into my ear !!!"

" THIS IS ALL YOUR FUCKING FAULT !!!!"                          

Vamp dude makes his way to punch the X-man but slips his grip a bit as the car almost hits a lamp post.  

" RICHIE !!! YOU MORON !!! WHERE DIDJA LEARN HOW TO DRIVE ???!! YOU ALMOST TOTALLED MY BABY !!!"   

" I never took any proper lessons Jamie !!! You killed me before I got to sixteen !!!" 

The Shelby swerves and jerks around some more with both man and vamp holding on for dear life or unlife, which of course goes for Jamie the screaming vamp with the bad blonde hairdo. ( I didn't mention that detail yet before did I ? Don't think too much of the monstrosity guys and girls. I'll spare you the visual. It's just horrible. Let's just leave it at that.) 

" FUUUCCCCCKKKK !!!!"

" That just about sums it up …" Xander muttered out as he winced. 

Vamp on the hood (heh) tries to hit out at Xander again , stretching his arm to full length as he swung. The first blow hits our hero in the chin , throwing his balance for the moment and Xander is forced to hang on with one hand . Gritting his teeth he holds on desperately, praying not to lose his grip as the vampire prepares to clock him one more.

" DIEEEE !!!" 

" Rich you're blocking my-"

_BAM !!!!! *yelp* !!! _CRUNCH !!!!  

Drops of blood splats and spatters into the air , a fleshy chunk of something hits the windshield though , right in front of the demonic driver's vision. Xander narrowly avoids being hit but at the same time somehow manages to regain a better grip and balance onto the car's metal hood.

" Jesus !!! What the hell was that ??!!!" he shouted out.

" Is that what I think it is ?!" Jamie asked no one in particular in open mouthed shock.

" YOU HIT A DOG !!! LOOK AT WHAT IT DID TO MY PAINTJOB !!!" 

Suddenly Jamie starts to tear up, his cries quickly taking to loudly weeping as it goes on. 

" Oh my GOD… I … I h-hit a harmless … _innocent_ animal. He didn't deserve it. _Poor doggy_ … I should die,  _not_ him !!! I'm so evil now…forgive me Lord …" 

" KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE DAMN ROAD !!!" screamed fashion reject Richie again.

Xander could only shake his head in utter disbelief. 

" You've _got_ to be kidding me …" 

~**~

" …understand that patrolling is very serious work. You're simply not ready for that yet. He on the other hand will do alright on his own." Giles finished the final touches of his new lecture.

" Of course he is. He's probably having the ride of his life compared to us. Why are we always stuck with the heavy research ?" 

" Focus Cordy." Willow chipped in her two cents, not without a kind smile in her grace. " This is important too. It needs to be done."

The brunette softened a bit but didn't let the matter go completely.

" But this is boring. I want some action. Plus I can't read French too well." Cordelia  pouted.

Giles pursed his lips together and made off to work another task. With a soft sigh he resigned the chore of handling Miss Chase to Willow, who with but a gesture of a look had Oz move from his seat to peer from over Cordy's shoulder and examine the brunette's current study material. 

" That's not French."  Oz blithely commented, at which point narrowed eyes met his gaze.

" Whaddya _mean_ …?" 

****** 

**End notes :** I wanted to focus more on the Xander and this gang of Scoobs here on this part which is why a certain dark haired slayer isn't here yet. I wanted to get a better grasp of their dynamics here and flesh out how they work as Xander's support on this hellmouth. Faith WILL appear soon so Faith fans, you're just gonna have to be patient on that for now. I'm doing what I can now and I'm pretty busy up here in SG. Hopefully I can get the new part out before I'm sent to Boot camp. Ten more days to my lack of freedom and when time runs out, that means I'll be out of any action for three weeks. *sigh* Bummer….

Anyway I hope you liked this part. Tell me what you think okay ?? Next time Faith's gonna make her entrance : ) Peace Out. 

FEEDBACK !!!!!!! 

Till next time I remain …….


End file.
